5 day Juice Cleanse with Soulmatefood

I’m a curious sort of person- by that I mean inquisitive not weird, although that’s probably true as well- when I hear a lot of hype and buzz around something I’m always keen to find out more. Like Crossfit for example- I’d read so much about it, some good, some bad and wanted to give it a try to make up my own mind. Generally this applies to most things, within reason, I like to read/research a subject, and then experience it for myself, be that skydiving, smoothies or yoga.

Hang-gliding in New Zealand

I’ve heard a lot about Juice Cleanses over the years, and had mostly dismissed them as an expensive celebrity fad. But juices and smoothies had started to play more of a role in my everyday diet, and after reading Lucy on The Lookouts blog posts about her experience with Crude Juice recently, I became more intrigued. Lauren from Powered by PB also has some great posts on exercising whilst on a juice feast if you’re interested too.

The idea of a juice cleanse is a nutritional reset- loading your body with fresh wholesome juices, packed full of fruit and vegetables, high in antioxidants and health boosting vitamins to kickstart your metabolism.

For me it’s also about regaining some control on my eating habits. I’m hoping that after the cleanse I will continue being more conscious of what I’m eating to maintain that healthy feeling. Things have spiralled a little since my personal life fell apart nearly 8months ago– I don’t talk about these things much on my blog, but suffice to say the situation is still “it’s complicated“, which definitely hasn’t helped with feelings of insecurity and confusion. I’ve turned to emotional eating to a certain extent, allowing myself a lot more treats and snacks than I did before, “because I deserve it”, “because I should be being nice to myself after everything that’s happened”, and “what does it matter if I eat a few extra biscuits anyway – it won’t change anything”. I feel it’s time to stop wallowing and start feeling awesome and happy about myself again, and this is just a little “fresh start”…

So… to get back to the juices!

Not sure if this is still valid, but it’s worth a try if you’re considering a juice cleanse.

I opted to go with the Soulmatefood Perfect Cleanse, if I’m honest, totally because of the offer that they had! Juice feasts are expensive, and this offer meant I paid £80 for a 5 day cleanse (£5 delivery), instead of £250! Here’s a quick summary of what the cleanse offers:

The Soulmatefood Perfect Cleanse, the world’s first hypostatic cleanse has intense alkalising and anti-oxidising properties, giving your skin a healthy glow and your body packed full of vitamins. Our nutritionist has given us some great, insightful facts for each of our 6 steps!

No. 1 Carrot, Apple & Ginger

– 24% Vitamin B6 – essential for healthy red blood cell production
– Great source of beta-carotene, essential for healthy skin and immune function

No 2. Cucumber, Kale, Broccoli, Celery, Lime, Lemon, Apple/Pear, Spinach and Avocado

– High in folate – essential for cell division and new cell production
– 59% of the RDA in Vitamin C

No. 3 Lemon, Cinnamon, Chilli and Ginger

– Chillies are a great source of antioxidants
– Ginger also has antibacterial properties which can aid immunity

No 4. Blueberry, Blackberry, Raspberry, Beetroot, lemon, Red Currant, Kiwi and Orange

– 68% RDA Manganese
– Full of powerful antioxidants known as anthrocyanins

No 5. Cucumber, Kale, Broccoli, Celery, Lime, Lemon, Pear, Spinach and Mint

– High in potassium – an essential electrolyte that helps regulate cell fluid and blood pressure
– 50% of the RDA in Vitamin C

No 6. Soothing night time detox tea

– help aid digestion
– relaxing, soothing and comforting

PERFECT CLEANSE INSTRUCTIONS

DO refrigerate the juices immediately.
DO sip the five parts of your cleanse in order throughout the day alongside 5 glasses of water.
DO exercise lightly whilst on the cleanse.
DON’T drink coffee or alcohol whilst on the cleanse.
Enjoy your juices every two and a half  hours and make sure you shake them well!

Problems with my delivery yesterday meant a poor start to my juice feast- they didn’t arrive within their supposed time slot- and because I had to go to work, were then dumped outside the door to the Sales Office of my block of flats (when we have a concierge who takes parcels)! Fortunately the lovely sales people in the office kept the box for me, and it was well insulated with ice packs inside so my juices survived. I also didn’t recieve the Night Time Detox Tea along with my juices, or any kind of paperwork such as a “welcome pack” or guidance on what to do. I found the above information on the Soulmatefood website, but so far I’m not that impressed. I’m still waiting for a callback from Soulmatefood as well, to explain what happened with their courier…